New York City offers a non-traditional break

Photo by Sara Crosthwait

Charlie Brown floats above the crowd during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Experiencing New York during the holiday season is comparable to watching Michael Jordan play basketball or watching Michael Jackson dance; visiting a great city in a prime time is truly exciting.

Though many students went home to their families for the Thanksgiving holiday, for those who do not have that luxury, other ideas must arise. In the case of Michael Miller and Sara Crosthwait, the idea was a trip to the Big Apple. For the two students having parents that live in Italy and Colorado respectively, the problem of distance and amount of travel time came into play. So with New York City only a Greyhound bus ride away, why not go?

Traditional Thanksgiving meals, lounging around the house while watching football, playing games, and hanging out with the family around the house are fun, but so is the tradition of watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. For Miller and Crosthwait, the tradition was to watch the parade on television, but this year the pair got to experience it live. Though the temperature was a frigid 32 degrees, watching the collection of big floats, random costumes (such as Ninja Turtles or block letters), B-list celebrities (such as B5, Shannon Miller, Carrie Underwood) and gigantic balloons was amazing, said Miller.

The reason that New York City is so fun during the Thanksgiving holiday is the change that occurs between Thanksgiving Day and the day after. If you thought Black Friday was a crowded time for shopping, imagine shopping on 5th Avenue with hundreds of other locals and tourists. In addition, stores like Macy's and Niketown bring the Christmas atmosphere to the city by adding red, green, sparkles, snowflakes and Christmas music to everything. "New York became a wonderful mix of people, stores and Christmas throughout the entire downtown area. I even forgot that I had just seen the parade the day before since I was continually reminded of Christmas," said Miller.

Even though Miller and Crosthwait ate a $5 Thanksgiving meal that consisted of chicken, rice, platanos and pasta salad in their hostel near Central Park the two had a good, though non-traditional, Thanksgiving break. Miller said that experiencing New York amidst the change from Thanksgiving to Christmas was incredibly busy and fun. The two seniors, like all other EMU students, were once again reminded of how far off Christmas is as they returned to campus last Saturday with the knowledge that December has yet to arrive.

Until that blessed holiday season that gives students a true break from school arrives, memories of Thanksgiving break will have to carry everyone. For those interested in a non-traditional Christmas break, a trip to exciting yet freezing New York City is definitely a good idea. However, it is hard to beat being home for the holidays; even if it means traveling to Italy for Christmas break as Miller will be doing; at least his family lives there so that he can add some tradition to the snowy holiday.